Nadeen’s Beat

Monday, April 16, 2018

I was completely
oblivious to the MM (male/male) fiction genre, which thinking back makes
absolutely no sense because I read exclusively Shounen Ai and Yaoi titles in
manga.

One random day on Tumblr
(yes, I love Tumblr) someone reblogged an excerpt from Pene Henson’s Into the Blue and I was completely
enthralled! Of course, my next step was to google “gay fiction” a bunch of
books came up and then I decided I wanted to narrow my search to mm fantasy.
The planets were aligned perfectly, because I also wanted to try Audible, so I
decided my first audiobook would be a mm fantasy title. It was love at first
listen and the beginning of my addiction to mm fiction.

My first title was Wolfsong by TJ Klune, it’s still my
favorite title in the mm fantasy genre, and I recently acquired the paperback.
I love anything fantasy driven where they are werewolves, fairies and other
worldly creatures (you can tell I was a fan of True Blood).

The titles below are fantasy driven with excellent plots and characters that will pull you into each
story’s world. The titles have explicit sexual scenes and they are all
intertwined into the plot, I am not a fan of sex for sex sake.

1.

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

Wolfsong is an excellent fantasy fiction
that I find it hard to explain, my summary won’t do it any justice. Werewolves
are real and so are many other things, but this story is more about bonds and
consequences that occur throughout someone's life. I’ve listened to Wolfsong too many times to count and
every time I get emotional because even though I know what will happen I
still can’t soften the blow of pure emotions. Beautifully written by TJ Klune
and the epic narration of Kirt Graves, you must experience it for yourself.

Cronin’s Key was fun and fascinating.
The world that N.R. Walker creates is filled with history and depth. You are able to peer into the vampire world that exists alongside what we believe to be
normal society. The characters are very intriguing, and the plot twist are
unexpected and keep you on your toes. I listened to Cronin’s Key and Joel Leslie’s narration was excellent, he does
accents and emotions very well. Cronin’s
Key has two additional books in the series.

The Pack Mates series is very entertaining,
and you become attached to the characters very quickly. I would read the books
in sequence because you are introduced to characters that will show up
throughout the series. All the titles are about shifters unexpectedly finding
their mates with drama mixed in. I love the mating concept with
werewolves/shifters and you are swept into their community immediately. I
purchased most of the books from Google Play Books, and the remaining titles on
Amazon, where you can purchase the entire series.

Monday, January 22, 2018

I want to become a better writer this year, bare with me through this process.

Memories of Purple

The distinct timbre of purple that the eye can only see when someone is in love, is the purple that we all long for. Winter has come and gone without catching a glimpse of the purple that the heart longs for. How can one fill the void of missing the one they love, reds, blues and yellows are no match for the one you loves purple aura?

Emptiness becomes acceptable because the void can’t be filled, but life moves on and you begin another season looking for the color you can’t see. There is a dullness of all your senses, no longer heighten by the presence of your love, so your body and mind are in a state of dormancy waiting for their return. Your body forgets the meaning of warmth and you find yourself surrounded by a trench of memories that you cling to in order to sustain an existence.

Spring arrives and you begin to notice soft violets growing around the city. The pretty flowers in the park are blooming and you remember what’s coming. With the return of spring, you begin to radiate in the anticipation, because your love is coming. With his arrival before your eyes you begin to see the beauty of the purple that engulfs him, and you remember that he’s the only person who can create such a color.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Sin City is a town made
from the ashes of film noir and a good old fashion detective novel. The black
and white landscape adds to the gritty feel of the story. There is no build up
to the plot, out of the gate we are faced with Marv’s reality. Marv is not the
typical hero/anti-hero, those constraints don’t apply to the force of nature
known as Marv.

A “chance encounter”
leads Marv into the hands of the beautiful and now dead Goldie. Marv is the
best fall guy to take the rap for Goldie’s murder, but who would want Goldie
dead? The aftermath of Marv and Goldie’s encounter is the foundation of the
controlled mayhem that Sin City: The Hard Goodbye is built upon.

As the story unfolds you
begin to realize that the term hero doesn’t fit Marv. He’s a vigilante with one
goal and purpose, this is his drive. Self-preservation isn’t in his vocabulary,
brute force with a mix of fearlessness and devotion are the things that make
Marv jump head first into this mission of carnage.

The pace is fast, and
you begin to see how all the puzzle pieces fit together to create the full
story. Frank Miller weaves this tale brilliantly, allowing for twist and turns
with the clear purpose to show the reader the core of Sin City.

Sin City is more than an
urbanscape, it’s a town that feeds on cause and effect. They are no heroes,
just men and women like Marv and Goldie who understood that the city can
destroy you. In the end there is still room for retribution, that makes this
wild ride even more satisfying.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Jonathan Luna and Sarah
Vaughn’s Alex and Ada Volume 1 delves into a world where human and A.I.
(Artificial Intelligence) are coexisting.

We are introduced to
Alex, a seemingly average guy who is trying to figure out life after the end of
a long-term relationship. The mundane existence that Alex is leading is subtly bleak,
he has friends and a career, but he’s still lonely.

Usually societal norms
when discussing Artificial Intelligence can be complicated. The story is set in a world where
many humans were killed by an android. How can a robot have thought without
input of the creator/owner? Free will is a human concept, there is no puppet
master forcing our hands. Is it possible for an android to have free will?

Alex and Ada convey companionship
akin to having the freedom of choice, but is it possible for something man-made
to have freedom? As the story unfolds, I continued to ask myself a conceptual
question; can freedom be engineered or is it a human concept that can be
transcribed to something we’ve created?

You are forced to
question your beliefs and it makes for an interesting internal debate. By the
end of the volume you are left with hope and sense of looming disaster. I’m
very excited to begin Volume 2 to see where this winding road will take me.